Why I Won't Be Eating at Chick-Fil-A

I know I'm late to the party with this one. I have a terrible habit of hearing about stuff like this, going all incandescent with rage, then immediately getting so tired that I can barely lift my fingers to type, and thinking that nothing I say will make a difference anyway. It very well may not. But there was a story in this book about an older man who was protesting something, and somebody told him his protest wouldn't change anything, and he laughed and said something like "I'm not protesting to change the town, I'm protesting so the town won't change me".

So I won't be eating at Chick-Fil-A. Some people have said it's not accurate to call the owner a 'hater' just because he says he believes in the traditional definition of marriage. And if we're talking a matter of degree, well then I guess I'd have to say people that merely say "I believe in the traditional definition of marriage" are preferable to people who go out looking for homosexuals to beat up, or people who carry signs with hateful slogans outside gay weddings, or people who torture and murder other people because they're gay. But Chick-Fil-A also gave money - a sizable amount of money - to organizations that exist because they think being gay is wrong. Disordered. Less than. All these people think that the world would be a better place if gay people did not exist; if they have to exist, all possible measures must be taken so that they cannot live, love, marry and work towards a fulfilling life in the same way that heterosexual people do. I don't know about you, but if you dig down deep to the root of that, I sort of think you find hate.

Some people think it's ridiculous to decide not to patronize a fast-food establishment because of its owners political or religious views. They don't care if their dry cleaner supports breastfeeding, they say, or if their dentist doesn't love animals. It's true that I'm not rigorous in inspecting the moral foundation of the owners and operators of every establishment I give my money to. Life is short and busy, and I'm a little on the lazy side. But if the person who takes a profit from a business lays his beliefs out there on a plate for all to see? I'm not going to go out of my way to ignore it. I will take this opportunity to vote with my lousy seven-fifty and buy my cardboard french fries somewhere else.

I talked to a friend in New York about this issue and she said that, while she can agree to disagree on some things, some things are too fundamental and important to merely call a 'disagreement'. I get this. I can't say I'm fully able or willing or ready to disengage from everyone in my life who doesn't wholeheartedly support gay marriage. I do, however - and I wonder if religious people get this - feel profoundly saddened and uncomprehending of their position. Of all the things in this world to be offended by, to be disgusted by, to feel violated and horrified and moved to act by, I am truly stunned at the fact that large numbers of people would choose this - someone who loves someone else of the same gender. And I can love the 'sinner' and hate the 'sin' right back at them.

So I don't think Chick-Fil-A restaurants should be vandalized, or legislated out of business, or even that their owner should be silenced. We all know people like him exist. He can go ahead and freely speak his disordered, unfortunate, wrong and, ultimately, to me, hateful thought. But I won't be eating at Chick-Fil-A, because I strongly disagree with his definition of marriage and family.

Also, I think the name Chick-Fil-a is really, really stupid.

Also, I'm Canadian and we don't have them here. But, you know, in theory I wouldn't eat there anyway.